Chapter 4 - The Folder With My Name

I enlarged the photo until the pixels blurred.

The folder was dark blue.

My name was written across a white label in Ryan's handwriting.

EMILY BENNETT - MEDICAL / LEGAL.

Maya stared over my shoulder.

"What the hell is that?"

"I don't know."

I typed: Who are you?

No response.

Then: What was in the folder?

Still nothing.

At sunrise, my obstetrician told me the baby had stabilized enough that emergency delivery was no longer the immediate plan, but I would remain under observation.

That should have calmed me.

Instead, I kept thinking about the folder.

Ryan handled our insurance. Our estate planning. The household staff contracts. The company benefits package.

He had access to everything.

Around nine, a woman in a gray suit entered with Officer Grant.

"Emily, this is Detective Lena Ortiz."

Ortiz sat near the window.

"Officer Grant told me about the texts. We've also requested preservation of your home security system."

"Ryan says it doesn't work."

"People say a lot of things when evidence makes them uncomfortable."

I handed her my phone.

She studied the picture of the folder.

"Do you recognize the person who took this?"

"No."

"Who had access to your house that night?"

I listed names: housekeeper, gardener, driver, Ryan's assistant, catering staff for a small dinner.

Then I remembered someone else.

"Noah."

"Who is Noah?"

"Our security technician. Noah Briggs. He came by last week because Ryan said one of the exterior cameras kept disconnecting."

Maya looked at me.

"Would he have access to footage?"

"Maybe."

Detective Ortiz wrote down the name.

Before she could ask more, my phone rang.

Ryan's attorney.

I let it go to voicemail.

A minute later, an email appeared from the same law firm.

Maya opened it and went still.

"Emily..."

"What?"

She turned the screen toward me.

The subject line read: NOTICE OF TEMPORARY MARITAL FINANCIAL RESTRICTIONS.

Ryan had already frozen our joint accounts.

My cards had been suspended.

My access to our family investment account had been restricted.

And at the bottom of the email was a sentence that made me sit up despite the pain.

Mr. Bennett has concerns regarding your current emotional stability and your ability to make financial decisions during pregnancy.

I stared at it.

"He's building a case."

Detective Ortiz looked at me carefully.

"For what?"

I remembered the folder.

Medical / Legal.

May you like

She Tried to Kill a Disabled Woman at a Billionaire’s Pool Party—But One...

She had already lost her leg. Now, they were trying to take her life.At a luxury mansion filled with millionaires, a terrified you...

THEY DECLARED HER DEAD—THEN ORDERED HER CREMATED WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALI...

They were about to burn her alive.Her death certificate had already been signed. Her body was scheduled for immediate cremation. A...

She Pushed a Pregnant Woman in a Wheelchair Into the Pool—Then Her Husba...

She was pregnant. She was in a wheelchair. And the woman standing behind her was smiling.Seconds later, one brutal shove sent her...

Then the unknown number finally answered.

He wants to make you look unstable before the baby is born.